8 Months!

Last Monday, April 9th, Austin turned 8 months.  Wow!  I can't believe he is already this old.  When I hold him, I still think of him as a newborn.  He is growing up too fast.  The past month has been so much fun with him.  He is trying so hard to crawl but is not quite there.  If there is something he really wants, but it is out of his reach, he will get to it somehow.  He will scoot to it on his bottom or bend over so far (he is so flexible) that he finally reaches it.  Or, he will go from sitting to his tummy and then do log rolls until he reaches it.  He is so interested in everything that is not his real toys like mom and dad's cell phones, the remote control, the laptop, the baby monitor, my water bottle, shoes, etc.  DiDi even bought him a toy cell phone and Mimi bought him a toy remote control.  He likes them, but somehow those aren't as cool as the real ones.  He is still so happy.  When I show up at lunch time to nurse him, he sees me from across the room and gets so excited.  He puts his arms in the air, gets a big smile, and starts to "yell" at me.  When I pick him up after work, he does the same.  Also, when I say "bye-bye", he knows I am leaving and fusses a little.  It ends pretty quickly though.  It's as if I am the greatest thing in the world- that sure makes me feel loved. :)  He has two teeth that I can see on the bottom - one that is about half-way up and the other is just starting. I felt his top gum, and I think he will get one up there soon too.  Austin just discovered the letters "B" and "D" and likes to say ba-ba-ba, and da-da-da.  David claims that da-da was his first word.  He does say "da-da" but has no idea what it means or that David is, in fact, DaDa.  When we are driving home from work/school, he loves to talk to me.  He will make a noise, I will repeat it, and then he will make another noise, and I will repeat, and so on.  It is precious.  At home, he even talks to Savannah.  Sometimes when he is on the rug in the living room surrounded by toys, I will step out of the room (I know, I won't be able to do this for much longer) and Savannah will be the only one in the room.  Then, I will hear Austin talking to Savannah.  It is as if he is saying "come play with me".  Just last week, Austin had meat for the first time.  Prior to meat, I had made all of his fruits and veggies.  I just don't see myself making pureed chicken or turkey or fish.  So, until he can eat finger food meats, I am going to buy jarred meats.  He has had turkey with mixed veggies and chicken with veggies so far.  He liked them and no signs of allergies.  One food he really likes is plain greek yogurt with some mashed bananas mixed in.  I first tried giving him plain greek yogurt (with nothing added) but he did not like the tartness.  So, the next time I mixed in mashed bananas, and ta-da, that sure was yummy.  He is still sleeping like a champ; the teething does not seem to bother him.  He goes down around 7:30pm and wakes up around 6am.  He naps twice a day (for a total of about 2.5-3 hours).  He is eating 3 solid food meals a day and having milk 5 times a day -typically 2 bottles/3 nursing on week days and 5 nursing/day on weekends.  His teachers tell me that he is very independent and such a happy boy.  They say that when he is tired, he just puts his head down on the floor where he is playing and starts to suck his thumb.  Speaking of thumb, he is attached to it.  For now, it is really cute and makes things easy because he sticks it in his mouth when he is tired, hungry, bored, or upset.  I am sure when he is three, I will be wishing he would break that habit.  Oh well.  Austin, will you stop growing up so fast?  Before I know it you will be walking around and reaching for everything.  I am thinking I need to put away the glass vases and electronic devices.  Before too long, you will be mobile and into trouble.  I cannot imagine life without you.  Your eyes light up when you smile and that can light up any room.  I love you, precious boy.

This smile lights up a room :)

So grown-up

Petting Savannah dog

Check out that handsome smile